Those Who Wander
by whedonite1113
Summary: Picking up shortly after the game-changing finale of season three, Bo awakes to find that things are not how she left them, herself included. With her allies in hiding, incapacitated or otherwise AWOL, Bo must find answers to questions she can't even begin to fully formulate. The biggest on her mind? Who is Karen Beattie, and what has she done with the Lauren she knew and loves?
1. Ocean Inside Of Me

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is co-written by Whedonite1113 and ItFeelsSoWrite.**

**CHAPTER ONE: Ocean Inside of Me**

Despite the omnipresent and unforgiving white light of the halogen poles above, Lauren was painfully aware of the softer light just barely beginning to blanket the outer structure of the remote medical facility she occupied. Ever since coming to from the anesthesia, she'd been more diligent with time than a scorekeeper, recording her physical and mental state on the hour every hour. Her colleague of seven years and impromptu surgeon earlier that morning had locked up an hour ago, requesting Lauren stay confined in her room until he could draft up proper clearance for the rogue doctor. Had she known the small space would unnerve her so, unlike countless, prior experiences that would suggest otherwise, perhaps she would not have been as quick to step into her 12x12 cage.

The isolation and the fear of the unknown was enough to make her fall prey to the simple man's apprehensive reverence for the moon and her cycles. With Dyson's DNA grafted into her hip and not a single symptom yet arisen, she grew more and more sure that as the moon took its fickle throne in the center of the sky, she'd become . . . _something. Which is ridiculous. Dyson is a lycanthrope, not an underfae. Werewolves as humans know them are just beasts._ For all of her knowledge, how was it that an ill-informed myth spread by the mouths of millions could challenge her certainty on a matter she was more than familiar with? _I'm just not in my right mind_, she dismissed her folly forgivingly, drawing the shawl tighter about her small frame before collapsing back down upon her cot. Closing her eyes, she willed the unfounded worries silent in favor of a night's recovery.

* * *

When she awoke again, the pain radiating through her bones made the hands of her wristwatch too blurry to read. She would grasp her arm, only to have her leg spike in pain. She would grasp her leg, only to physically reel from the shattering echo in her skull. Finally she merely curled into herself; At least, until the spasms started. Her limbs shot from her as if they were magnetized and beckoned by Magneto himself, phalanges of both hands and feet tensing in grotesque claws grasping at air. Biting down, Lauren managed to keep most of her whimpers and gasps muffled, but when the vertebrae of her spine separated from the cartilage disks all at once to make way for additional bone growth there was no stopping the agonizing scream that ripped through her being like a howl. Having ridden out seventy seconds of the violent transformation, Lauren blacked out.

* * *

Her second rousing found her in the middle of the floor, groggy and sore. Pushing herself off of the cold concrete, she cradled her head until the room became relatively still. Remembering the events of the middle of the night, she quickly took to patting herself down, moving her palms swiftly but thoroughly over every inch of her body. Everything seems to be internal, she thought as her hands ceased, her eyes now taking in the blossoming bruises up her arms and legs. Tugging her shirt sleeve up revealed that the bruising was along more than just her appendages. Moving stiffly to pull her blouse clear over her head, she continued the self-examination along her clavicles and ribs.

"Well, it certainly wasn't a dream," she murmured to herself, hissing softly as she felt just how deep the bruising had gone. The sound of keys fumbling with a lock caused her to whip her head toward the door before spurring her to grab her shirt and quickly redress herself. She was barely to her feet when the door opened, revealing the smiling face of her colleague. Wrapping her arms about her chest to hide her badly-bruised upper arms as efficiently as possible, Lauren mustered a pleasant smile.

"Good morning, Dr. Drier. I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you."

"And you as well, Ms. Lewis. I hope you slept alright?"

"As well as one can in a room that never goes black," Lauren reassured playfully, growing nervous as Dr. Drier's gaze grew more interested in Lauren's appearance. Clearing her throat, she turned her back on Dr. Drier, busying herself with gathering the bedding from her cot. "Thank you for your hospitality, and more so for your discretion."

"I will never be able to repay you in my lifetime, but it does not mean I do not try to level my debts. I need to do rounds on the rest of the building. Can I get you anything while I am away?"

"Clearance?"

"Still processing."

"Then may I at least stretch my legs in the hallway?"

Dr. Drier considered the request for a moment before nodding. "I don't see the harm in that. Just please avoid drawing attention to yourself should anyone else arrive this early."

"Of course," Lauren sighed in relief, hugging her bedding to her chest. Dr. Drier's eyes combed over her one last time before he pocketed his hands and stepped out, leaving the door open. Lauren waited a beat until she was sure he had rounded a corner before stepping out, looking around for signage and memorable hints to gather her bearings. _C-Wing, second level_. Another sigh of relief dully ached her chest. Her brief eight month assignment to this base had largely been spent in C-Wing. If things hadn't changed much, then her destination was only a hop and a skip away. Now it was only a matter of gaining clearance, hopefully before Drier further investigated her motivations. _Or worse_.

* * *

Depositing her bedding in a dirty hamper, Lauren began rifling through the clean uniforms, setting aside a pair of slacks and a long sleeve button-down. Stripping down to just her undergarments, she emptied her pant pockets, placing her wallet, a voice recorder, a utility knife and a tiny bottle of clear liquid atop the nearest dryer. Slipping into her new change of clothes, she pocketed everything but the voice recorder, her fingertips grazing the device thoughtfully before picking it up and drawing it to her lips.

"This is Dr. Lauren Lewis. It is," Lauren glanced down at her wristwatch, "November 7th, 6:24 in the a.m. It has been a week since acquiring Dyson's marrow sample. Roughly twenty-four hours ago, I underwent grafting surgery with this sample. I have sustained massive internal bruising that I cannot fully recollect, occurring some time in the night. I can only assume it was self-induced, as the only person aware of my location is Dr. Hubert Drier, and I was locked in a one-entrance room for the duration of the night. Surroundings were in the same state when I awoke as I had left them falling asleep, suggesting no amount of struggle. If my fragmented recollection is correct, I believe it is safe to conclude that the bruising was caused by rapid, physical changes within the body – namely the skeletal structure. This being said, there are no lasting changes present on my current being. I must gain access to blood work and other monitoring procedures as quickly as possible."

Stowing away the device, Lauren finished buttoning the sleeves of her shirt, as well as the collar, smoothing it out gingerly before walking to the nearest window. Staring back at her was the professional she recognized back when she served in Afghanistan, before the Congo, before the fae had found her, before Nadia was sick and before she indentured herself; back when she had been Karen Beattie, and long before Bo. Free. Unabused. Enough. _More than enough_. Satisfied that her injuries were fully cloaked, Lauren returned to her room, praying that Dr. Drier had the foresight to anticipate her rumbling belly.

* * *

Groaning, Bo squinted her eyes. Once. Twice. Despite the fact they were still closed. She was curled in a fetal position upon something soft and light. Something which felt of familiarity and made all the little hairs on her arms tingle. A massive throbbing from the back of her head pounded out a steady rhythm as she attempted to pull her eyelashes open from the darkness. It took more effort than she had ever given it.

Through her blurred gaze she saw pieced and disheveled wood, cracked and broken in an almost purposeful placement. Tiny bursts of light sunk through them. It took her brain several seconds to register it was a window. A window made of wood and glass. And it was boring into her eyes, causing the pulsing in her head to beat deeper into her brain. Another moan escaped her lips as she rolled over onto her back. This time she was met with drapery above, thin and beige in it's tint.

Her arms spread across her sides, down below her as she clutched what she knew to be sheets. Her sheets. In her bed. Blinking several time she brought the room into focus. Her room. Pressing her lower back into the bedding she tried to sit up but when her head raised only a few inches from the pillows a sharp sensation crashed from the top of her head all the way to her toes. "Shit," she groaned as she relaxed her body back into the comfort of the cushioning.

Taking the time to lay still for a few minutes Bo looked about the room for something she could use to curb this recognizable gnawing in her stomach. An empty glass was placed on the nightstand, and when she focused on it she could tell there was a line of dust settled on top of the rim. _How long has that been sitting there_, she thought as her hand slowly reached out for it. The object was slightly warm in her hand and when she brought it closer to her line of sight she saw her fingerprints smudge against the slightly heated material. "Weird," she whispered to herself.

Placing the object down onto the bed, she braced herself up onto her elbows with a heavy try. Her head started to spin immediately but not nearly as drastic as before. With a few blinks she was able to clear her vision so that she could sit all the way up, holding her head gingerly. Once her mind was able to focus, the first thing she noticed was how quiet the house was. Kenzi wasn't usually one to be out at...her eyes glanced over to the clock. It read 3:12pm.

"Holy shit," she groaned, throwing her legs over the bed and nearly cringing as they hit the cold floor. Her toes tingled as she got to her feet, hand gripping the bedpost immediately to steady her balance as the room started to spin and fade in and out yet again. As her fingers clenched the wood in her palm she focused on one word in her mind, 'breathe' until it became a command so steady herself. Squinting her eyes shut she thought it even harder until the spinning began to cease. With a long, low exhale she opened her eyes again and made her way into the kitchen.

The first noticeable thing about the living room was the fact she hadn't nearly knocked over or stubbed her toe on anything from the cross from her bedroom to the kitchen island. Usually there was a weapon on the floor, or one of Kenzi's lethal nine inch heels shoes, which in retrospect are the same thing as a weapon. Or at the very least her heel would've crunched against a cracker crumb or knocked a wine bottle. But no. The entire floor was spotless. So was the couch, and the coffee table. There were no dishes in the sink and food packages weren't strewn about the table. _Someone's kidnapped Kenzi_, was Bo's first thought. _Someone's kidnapped Kenzi and cleaned my kitchen_.

As if the thought of her twice in a row were enough to warrant a magical entrance, Kenzi's voice filtered in through the hallway, causing Bo to turn from where she stood.

"I don't care what Hale said, Vex, you've been on my ass tighter than the last pair of Jimmy Choo shoes I bought."

"Stole," a deep, thick English accent corrected. The sound of approaching heels brought Bo further out of the kitchen and into the living room as the voices continued. "And believe me, doll, if I were on your ass-"

"If you finish that sent-" Kenzi's threat was short lived as she and the pleather-clad Fae entered the hallway from the front door and the thin Russian's eyes locked with Bo's. The succubus' lips curled up into a smile at the sight of her best friend but before she could utter a word Kenzi charged toward her and her fist made direct contact with Bo's left shoulder.

"Ow!" Bo cried, grabbing the assaulted limb. Kenzi went in for another form of attack, slapping any piece of skin not otherwise covered by Bo's sheer tank top.

"Where the Fae have you been?!" the smaller girl exclaimed, "Early grave doesn't begin to cover it this time, Bo!" Clutching the wirey hands in her own, Bo ceased the rampage of appendages being flung in her direction as she stared her best friend in the face. The younger girl averted her eyes, on the verge of tears. Once the flailing was ended, Kenzi wrapped her arms tightly around Bo's shoulders and pulled her in for a full force hug. Bo returned the embrace for a brief moment before pulling Kenzi back and asked,

"Kenzi, what're you talking about? I saw you just yesterday I was just...worn out I guess from all the excitement that went on at that bunker. Which now that I'm thinking on it-"

"Bo!" Kenzi interrupted, "that was three weeks ago!" Bo swallowed, certain she'd heard Kenzi wrong.

"What?"

"Lots has happened since then, poppet," Vex replied, walking into the kitchen and hopping up onto the island. He helped himself to an apple which sat on the counter and with a loud crunch continued, "Your little man Hale has me babysitting your human in your absence. Which has been a royal pain if you catch my meaning. Didn't come back to town to play Mr. Mom to a little punk rocker now, did I?" Kenzi rolled her eyes and grabbed the piece of fruit from his hands, tossing it into the trashcan nearby.

"Babysit, what, Kenzi, what's going on?" Bo asked, still trying to get a hold on things. Kenzi's bright blue doe eyes circled the succubus' several times before she answered in a quiet whisper,

"Oh my god. You don't remember, do you?" Bo's eyes darted between Kenzi and Vex's a few times before Kenzi continued, "You have no idea what's been happening, what's going on..." Taking the situation in hand, Kenzi took Bo by the wrist and a wine bottle nearby by the neck and led the confused and still quite sore succubus to the couch. She handed the bottle to Bo as they sat. "Bo, the Morrigan has pulled a whole genocide call on humans, claimed or not. Hale has kept me mostly underground with pole dancer as my watch dog-"

"Oi!" Vex called from the kitchen, now raiding the fridge with anything he could find. Kenzi continued without missing a beat.

"-he found me when I was on my way in rich bitch's swankified new vehicle to meet up with this Druid about-"

"What were you doing going to see a Druid," Bo asked, knocking a belt back from the bottle and hoping it'd ease her twirling just a bit.

"Irrelevant, didn't find him," Kenzi continued to prattle on. "Details later Bo Bo, right now I gotsta know, where the flippity flop have you been? I mean...the only clue I could find was back at the Dal there was this card on the floor-" Kenzi reached into her back pocket and pulled out a large Tarot card. Glancing down at it, her face scrunched a bit as her lips pressed together. "That's weird," she mumbled. Turning it over the entire face was completely blank. "There was a picture of this guy. The Wanderer. And someone that looked like you, I thought that maybe someone was trying to send a message like you were kidnapped or-Bo-Bo are you ok?"

Her vision started to fade in and out as flashes of a man, tall with swoopy brown locks and piercing sad, kind, terrifying eyes gleaned back at her. As quickly as the image popped into her head it was gone again. She reached back to steady herself against the couch as she licked her lips. "Fine," she mumbled, "I'm fine I think I'm just-I'm just hungry-"

"Found some peaches and cream!" Vex bellowed, his head still stuck in the ice box.

"Doubt she means food," Kenzi corrected him. The English man's head popped above the fridge door for a brief second before he replied.

"Oh right. Well she's not eating me. Last time I let a succubus suck me off-"

"Visual!" Kenzi hollered in disgust, visibly shaking at the unintended mental image. "We've kind of been keeping a low profile, so I don't know what we could find on the menu."

It sickened her on levels she couldn't properly comprehend in the moment to think of an instant fix to the problem. The fact it was breaking a promise she'd made seemed slightly irrelevant now that the woman she loved fully abandoned her, in every way possible now. So through pressed lips, she asked quietly, "Where's Dyson?" Kenzi's mouth opened and closed several times as she placed a hand on Bo's knee.

"Bo-" she began a sense of foreboding and intended comfort coating her voice which unnerved Bo to no end.

"Kenzi," she said, leaning forward and wrapping her friend's hand with her own, "where's Dyson?"


	2. I'm Here, Another Day Is Gone

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much for the reads and reviews. Hopefully you guys enjoy chapter two as much as the chapter one prologue. Expect longer chapters from here on out! We've got a long way to go! As always, read, review, enjoy, and if you're from Showcase, don't sue because we don't own anything from **_**Lost Girl**_**. We're just fans with too much time on our hands.**

**CHAPTER TWO: I'm Here, Another Day Is Gone**

"This is Dr. Lauren Lewis. It is November 21st, 9:53 in the p.m. Dr. Drier's inquires are becoming more and more insistent. Just yesterday I broke a thick glass beaker in my hand simply by picking it up. The surge in otherworldly strength, as well as the other enhancements, are come and go, manifesting when I least want them to. Dyson insists that it is because I lack a proper wolf spirit, as if the entity is an actual, separate being from his own. The science does not stand behind it, not with all the medical tests I've run on lycanthropes over the years. His body carries the evidence, not a second soul. Still, there are texts dating back in the B.C.s that the Ash made available to me that stand behind the symbiotic soul theory. Whether it's metaphorical or literal, it still does not change my current dilemma – how long will it be until somebody asks to see the fruits of my labor? I'm not sure how much longer I can stay here under this guise and seeing how my tests are coming up inconclusive, this game is becoming too dangerous to play for the payoff."

Lauren watched her reflection as the recorder drew away from her lips, looking herself in the eye long and hard. Two weeks from the surgery and all she had to show for it were bruises, ringed eyes and a connection with Dyson that, if she were being completely honest, comforted her as much as it informed her. She had encountered his consciousness the fifth night in to her stay, sound asleep but wide awake. She had thought him a dream at first, perhaps a result of some guilty conscious, but the way he reacted . . . the words they traded . . . the lucidity of it all . . . Dyson told her that he'd been in this state for "Days? Weeks? Months?", saying that he had had nothing to break up the monotony until Lauren. She could only guess that that was the reason why he didn't attempt to dismantle her when she confessed to utilizing his sample. Every night since, Dyson would replace Lauren's REM, and as prisoners are wont to do, they'd talk about nothing and anything – candidly – just to know that another human being saw them.

Unbuttoning her slacks, she slipped first one, then the other leg out mid-stride, draping the ironed fabric over the iron-barred headpost, dropping the voice recorder carefully within its pocket. Undoing the hospital corner of her blanket, she slipped beneath and closed her eyes. The backs of her eyelids pulsed red with the light above. The shade reminded her of Bo's bedding and how it brought out the flush in her cream skin with every adoring stroke of her fingertips. Just for tonight, Lauren wished that she could dream again.

"You always appear standing, did you know that?" Dyson's voice rang in her ears with an amused lilt before Lauren could even open her eyes. Blinking, she brought him into focus amidst the monochrome surroundings – suggestive shapes and shadows of shapes, more than anything else, all blanketed by a thin but omnipresent fog. Moonlight poured from somewhere above them, but neither had ever been successful in pinpointing the source.

"Hello, Dyson," Lauren greeted politely, watching as Dyson dusted off the invisible ground beside where he sat Indian-style, patting it.

"I saved a seat for you," his blue eyes twinkled as he tried on a grin.

"You shouldn't have," Lauren played along before walking over and sinking down beside him, pulling her knees up loosely to her chest.

"How long has it been?" Dyson asked cautiously, bringing Lauren's distant gaze back to him as she turned her head. It wasn't the question that caught her off-guard. It was practically the only bartering chip she had to give to Dyson in exchange for any news he would pick up from the occasional visits from Hale and Kenzi in the hospital. It was how soon he was asking. Examining him closer, Lauren could tell that his personal limbo was beginning to eat at him. His leg bobbed up and down as if he were afraid that if he stopped moving for more than a second, he would cease to exist.

"Since we last talked, about twenty hours."

Dyson exhaled, looking somewhat crestfallen, before nodding and summoning back an easy smile. "They never feel like hours anymore. I can feel the dystrophy settling."

_Easy come, easy go_, Lauren's face fell as Dyson's smile retreated once again. She considered reaching out and touching his knee, but something in her denied the kindness. That's not what they were about. Their brand of band-aid was a shot glass toasted to the stormy waters of Bo Dennis. It had to be only that, at least while what they wanted most conflicted with the other.

A comfortable silence fell between them as they merely enjoyed each other's company. Just the sound of someone else breathing and the shift in the air that played against her skin any time Dyson adjusted beside her made her feel as if she were a part of the world. Everything affected her. She wasn't just a ghost, and more importantly, she didn't have to pretend to be one. _I can't imagine what it must be like for you_, she thought as she looked to Dyson again.

"I broke a beaker today."

"How does that work? Do they take it out of your paycheck? Or because you're an intern, do they just not allow you to learn for six dollar's worth of your time?"

Lauren smiled and shook her head, but gave Dyson's words no more thought, instead continuing toward the destination she had intended. "I've still not been able to control any aspect of . . . whatever this is. The tests I've ran all show evidence of a morphed physiology, no matter when the samples were taken, meaning the changes should be constantly in effect."

A chuckle reverberated in Dyson's throat, taking his turn to shake his head. "Not everything is science, Doctor. Lycanthropes are complex, even by fae standards."

Lauren's lips thinned, eyebrows furrowing before she tackled the familiar topic again. "For argument's sake, even if we acknowledge souls, which for the sake of this discussion, is the consciousness and sole choice-maker for the body, to be a contributing factor in the manifestation of fae attributes, it still does not explain you, Dyson. You are yourself, no matter your physical form. Your choices are of your consciousness. You are the wolf."

"Yes. And the wolf is me," Dyson concurred, Lauren quipping a trite "right" in her mounting frustration as Dyson inhaled to continue. "It's tribal. It's spiritual. It's how twins can sync to the same frequencies and Siamese twins can share the same body, except so much more than that." Lauren had to bite her tongue as rebuttals cropped to mind at Dyson's watering down of biology and psychology. "We're the same being in that we've been together from the very start. It's a symbiosis that is so old and so natural that it works. We want the same thing. We feel the same things. We go about things the same way. We are the mind of human and the strength of beast. You took something from me, yes, but the things that you desired from my wolf? The power? You took from him. Beings like that aren't grounded to bodies."

Lauren's eyes widened somewhat in a glimpse of understanding, her lips parting in a silent "oh . . ." as she sorted through the words to regurgitate the meaning. "So . . . underfae of your kind . . . werewolves. They are . . ."

"Lycanthropes whose souls could not bond symbiotically before The Dawning. Yes."

"I've been focusing on the physical for so long, though to be fair trying to run tests on my brain activity would require a second person . . ." Lauren murmured, mostly to herself as she stepped through the newly-opened door of possibilities. Remembering that she had company, she looked back up at Dyson.

"That's why you're here. That's why you're always here and I always come here."

"I'm here because I have nothing better to do under my given circumstances. You're here because you're a thief. You have something of mine that wants to come back, but it can't, can it?" Dyson's unwavering gaze peered right into Lauren, holding her petrified and guilty before finally releasing her. "It sounds like whatever fragment you took from me is rioting inside a body it knows nothing about. It's a toddler with the strength of an ox, sharing the mind of a being that denies its existence. It's angry, but it's yours now. I hope it turns out to be worth it."

Lauren watched as Dyson stood, unprompted, cracking his neck and working out the stiffness of his back and shoulders before turning away from Lauren. He managed two steps before Lauren's somewhat alarmed voice asked, "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere," Dyson threw the word over his shoulder as he paused. "But I think it's time you leave. Wake up, Lauren." On command, the eyelids of her subconscious closed, body falling over by its own weight against the black nothingness. Back in the bright lights of her room, tired eyes jolted open.

* * *

"Bo, Bo, Bo that's enough, you're-" Kenzi tugged the sleeved jacket of the man in the succubus' tight embrace even harder, "-you're going to kill him if you don't stop!" Throwing her hand around to Bo's head, she knocked the older woman with all her might. Shimmering blue eyes met Kenzi's a light growl emanating from the back of the woman's throat as she dropped the man to the ground. The small Russian took a few steps back, her own eyes growing wide as Vex tilted his head in the general direction of the victim served lunch at his feet.

"He's breathing. I think you lot consider that a good sign," he mumbled, tapping the middle aged man's side. "You almost did drain him dry though Hoover Lips," the Fae practically giggled licking his own lips, "since when did your human thirst move from taste to consumption?"

"Wondering the same over here," Kenzi said, kneeling down to the stranger and checking his pulse. She had wanted to be a bit more subtle about the whole ordeal, but once Bo hopped out of the car and onto the sidewalk she moved toward the guy like a bat out of hell. Apparently the short drive into the city hadn't done much to slake her appetite. And the ride had done nothing to ease Kenzi's mind over where her best friend had trudged off to three weeks ago without so much as a "Tootles, I'll bring back some fancy champy!"

_"Kenz, I've already told you, if I really did Cinderella off to somewhere, I don't know where it was or what happened or anything of the kind."_

_"So a full out blank? Nadda?"_

_"I haven't had amnesia yet. Maybe it's on fate's 'Wouldn't It Be Funny If-' list under my name."_

"Here just help me prop him against the wall ok, just until he comes to." Kenzi's weak arms tugged at the man's shoulders as she looked between Vex and then Bo. "Anytime now," she said disgruntledly until each one of them took a leg and hauled him to the nearest footstoop. Once he was moderately placed against the brick, seeming more like a mid-afternoon passed out drunk than a Fae-Chi drive-by, the three cycled back into the vehicle Vex had procured.

"The Morrigan's private stash was far too traceable."

"Nothing quite beats a standard pick lock jobs in tight pinches," Kenzi boasted pridefully as she glanced back to Bo in the back seat. She'd initially wanted to slip back in with her best friend but after the little snarl and glare had amped Bo up into a glimpse at Super Succubus she was keeping a friendly but attentive distance. The blue in Bo's eyes was more lingering than usual, but the young Russian just attributed up to having gone a long period of time without feeding. "Do you even remember the last time you ate?"

Licking the corner of her lips, Bo sighed. "Well someone had to be feeding me. Which makes me both grateful and creepily unnerved." Kenzi drummed the top of her seat with her long fingers as she thought. The rhythm of the digits moving up and down in the same sequential pattern sent a feeling of haunting familiarity through Bo as she inhaled sharply and shut her eyes.

A clock. A very clear image of a long golden grandfather clock was illuminated at the end of a very long hallway. And just as striking and strong as the image was uncovered in her mind it was gone again as her shoulder shook with a fervent insistence. "Bo!" Kenzi called, rearing her hand back to pop the succubus on the face before Bo opened her eyes and caught Kenzi's hand mid-strike. "You always spoil my fun," the younger girl quipped.

Bo sighed as she affectionately kissed the top of Kenzi's hand and released it from her own grasp. "Sorry just...had some sort of weird flash of something..."

"What was it?" Kenzi asked, flicking her hand loosely up and down a bit before giving Bo her undivided attention.

"A clock. A great big grandfather clock at the end of a hallway."

"Memory?" Vex asked, keeping his eye on the road as he swirved passed another driver who was lawfully going the speed limit.

"I don't know I just-I need to see Dyson. How long has he been under?" As the words left Bo's mouth, Vex pulled into the visitor parking of the local hospital.

"When they found the truck they said he must've been there for hours." Slipping out of the door once the vehicle was in park, Kenzi added, "It was pretty cold that night. Even for a wolf." Opening the back door, Bo wobbly stepped out of the car, now fully fed but still a bit woozy. "He was pinned in the passenger side. But...there wasn't a second body."

"And they never found the driver?" Bo asked as Kenzi shook her head back and forth in reply. The hospital doors opened as the motley trio made their way to the reception desk.

* * *

"You write with your right hand now," Dr. Drier said matter-of-factly as he peered up from his microscope across the countertop to Lauren.

"Pardon?" Lauren asked, glancing up at him before glancing down at her right hand, the pen she was using to record findings comfortably balanced between her fingers. "Oh, right. I mean. Correct. Though right is right, too." Lauren babbled before smiling in embarrassment at herself. "Astute."

"Ah, no, that would be you, my dear. You were always so clever, even in manners beyond your field. I suspect your handwriting looks nothing like Ms. Beattie's anymore, does it?" Dr. Drier complimented, but Lauren could tell there was another purpose for tossing this stone. This was Dr. Drier's segue into trying to pry some sense out of his colleague. He was letting her know for the hundredth time that even though he was helping Lauren Lewis, he was still curious about Karen Beattie's past five years since he had seen her last. Choosing not to acknowledge his find any further, Lauren finished off the sentence she had been writing before gathering her things.

"I think I need to step outside to clear my head. Too much fluorescent lighting; I'm beginning to see it in my dreams," Lauren explained herself as she shut off the overhead lamp at her station. Before Dr. Drier could offer to come along, Lauren was taking quick strides for the door.

Back in her room, Lauren sunk into her bunk, leaning her back against the wall it was perpendicular to. In one fluid motion, her most gabbed-to companion was to her lips, red light streaming as she began a new entry.

"Dr. Lauren Lewis, November 22nd, 1:37 p.m. It has to be tonight. I was hoping for more time with the facility, but I can't chance discovery. Dr. Drier may not be threatened by my new persona, but it does not mean that his curiosity is slaked. As far as he's concerned, I am wanted for the disruption and protest of military research. Fae isn't even a word in his daily vernacular. I would like to keep it that way. It's only a matter of time before I slip and leave something tell-tale for him to discover. With a mind like his and the rank he commands, it'd only take a single inhuman sample to send his curiosity reeling, and I'd be under someone's boot yet again.

I hope that Hale recognized the longevity of my service and made sure that my home was protected in my absence. If it has been ransacked or anything destroyed, I'm not sure what I will do in terms of equipment and monitoring. I will slip out tonight during lock-up. It will be a ways on foot, but I should reach an airport before sunrise.

I cannot lie. My heart has missed home. I am no stranger to being a fugitive, but I feel like a stranger to myself every day that I spend here. Familiar sheets and the lingering scent of a woman lost to me seemed like it would destroy me three weeks ago. Now it's all I can think about, even with what should be the all-consuming matter of my inconsistent physiology. With Bo missing, I can't afford to lose myself, too."

* * *

Their voices always started off as far away whispers, gently interrupting his focus like an apprehensive knock at a door opened a mere second later; they were going to come in anyway regardless, but now they could say they asked permission. Dyson would accept every time were it his option, regardless of his visitor. Any distraction was a blessing from the monotony of a motionless mind. He used to worry. About Bo. About Kenzi. About Hale. Now he only worried that he'd never be in a position to help them again. He could not even begin to fathom how to wake up. He could only hope that he would never forget that he was sleeping. The phantom voices served as reminders.

"He looks like he's just down for a nap. Hardly a scratch," Dyson's eyes grew wide as Bo's faint voice whispered all around him. He quickly gathered to his feet, ears straining to hear more, in case he had imagined it.

"No one told him nap time was over," Kenzi's voice ricocheted in after.

"Bo's alive . . ." a childish grin spread across his lips as he murmured the words, looking up and around. He held his breath as he waited for the next thread of dialogue to seep into his restless mind, practically whooping in triumph as Bo's voice resurfaced.

"I knew he was too stubborn to die."

"You're damn right," he laughed softly, positive that if he smiled any wider his face would split in two. Struck by an idea, he sucked in a quick, deep inhale before shouting with no reserve. "BO! BO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? I'M HERE. I'M RIGHT HERE." The stillness buzzed around him in agitation, but it only spurred him further, his voice sending reverberations through the darkness as if he were throttling a chain-link fence. An unrelated howl of delinquent defiance poured from his gut as he looked all around, the darkness cracking to reveal slivers of white light. He had no idea what any of it meant, but gods be damned did it feel good.

"Dyson?" A clearer, calmer and frankly more concerned voice than that of what he had heard in the past five minutes questioned, followed by measured footsteps. The curly-haired man whirled around, doing his best to hide his infectious smile as Lauren came into his focus. "Are you okay?"

Clearing his throat, he opened and closed his jaw until he could erase the muscle memory, lips finally relaxing into something more natural. "Just making some noise," he replied, glancing above him more than once as fragmented words of his faraway companions occasionally bled into his reality. Looking long at Lauren, he could tell that whatever he heard, Lauren could not. "Making sure I'm still here."

Lauren continued to observe him wordlessly, her eyes following his upward every once in awhile only to fail to see what had his focus split. Is this what the beginnings of insanity look like?

"Heh, probably," Dyson chuckled, running a hand through his curls.

"What?" Lauren's brow furrowed.

Dyson's wandering eyes fell back on the smaller woman. "I'm agreeing with you. I imagine I look the part of asylum patient #106. I haven't quite managed to find a razor in here."

"You heard me?"

"Usually do," Dyson replied slowly, beginning to mirror the befuddlement on Lauren's face. "Are _you_ okay?"

Lauren frowned, but nodded. "Yes. Yes, I'm . . . fine." Making a conscious effort not to think excessively hard or clear, Lauren took to busying herself, diving headlong into the first topic to crop to mind. "I'm returning back home. I should be there within the next 24 hours and when I do, I'll pour over your medical reports. I sort of have a thing for long-term comas." A wry smile flickered across her lips, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "If I can get you out of here, perhaps we'll find Bo that much sooner." Lauren had thought the news would send the wolf running circles and clicking his heels together. About the only thing that looked right on the man that just received word that one of the most intelligent and experienced fae physicians was going to give him her special care was the stupid, giddy smile on his face as he continued to grin up at the sky.

"Dyson!" a bite in Lauren's voice that surprised even her brought them both together on the same page as his eyes snapped to her.

"I'm sorry. That's great news. I'm confident in your care; I'll be up and about in no time." Dyson stepped toward Lauren, clasping her shoulder heartily. Lauren detected a glimpse of knowing in his light eyes as he continued, "And with everyone coming back together, Bo will no doubt follow suit. You know I always find her." Lauren's eyes narrowed just the slightest, lips pursing before she nodded unenthused.

"Hang on tight, Wolfman. Bo's back, baby. We're startin' the reunion tour and we need our muscle." Kenzi's hopeful words hooked Dyson's attentions back to his stagnant reality. Squeezing Lauren's shoulder with a genuine smile, he released her, turning to walk a few paces farther from Lauren's perplexed and scrutinizing eyes. He knew how hospital visits went. Short and sweet. Any second now, they would leave him back to his silence, but not before Bo got the final word. He knew her.

"I'll fix you up, Dyson. I just need another Lunchable or seven, but I'll be back for you."

". . . but I'll be back for you." Bo's voice echoed the tender words, each repetition growing louder and more distorted as it overlapped with the previous, until Lauren could hear nothing else. Her eyes widened as her heart raced. She wasn't sure which was going to collapse first, her eardrums or her pounding heart, until finally Bo's voice slowly retreated, the echoes fading. Her knuckles had grown white clutching the lips of her coat pockets.

"Bo," Lauren breathed. Head cocking slightly to the side, Dyson slowly turned.

* * *

Seeing Dyson in such critical condition shook Bo to the bone. She was almost instantaneously reminded of holding his dying body during the midst of her dawning, only this Dyson in the hospital bed seemed to have a bit more color in his cheeks. But not by much. Kenzi had already filled Bo in on Trick's absence, Hale having shipped him off to hiding while this human witch hunt was still in full force, yet the overwhelming urge for answers, sex, and alcohol were overwhelming. Not necessarily in that order, but perhaps all at once.

Her head continued to spin with overload. She sat quietly in the back seat while Vex and Kenzi argued over the radio station. Closing her eyes and crossing her arms, Bo tried to take everything in. The absolute last thing she remembered was walking to the Dal to find Trick. She didn't remember actually stepping inside, or even if she made it there, just that the next thing she knew she woke up in bed with a asteroid sized headache and the desperate need to fuck her way through every man, woman, and Fae in town. Kenzi had done her best to fill her in, but it didn't do much to ease the unsettling chill in her blood that something was not just wrong, but astronomically wrong.

Her urge to reach into her pant pocket and pull out her cell phone, if only to hear her voice on the other line, was overwhelming. But she knew there would be no answer on the other side. She didn't know what had happened to Lauren, if she had been brainwashed, glamored...was speaking of her own volition out of righteous hurt...but everything about everything felt off in this scenario. In the swirling of her mind, she could admit nothing had felt right since Lauren had let her walk out the door back at her apartment. And that there was this small part of her which just wanted to reach out to the doctor and have her fix everything right up. The way Lauren always did. She would at least have a direction for Bo to look in when it came to piecing together these wide gaping blocks in her head. And when she couldn't think about it anymore...there would be a way to silence thought itself. Her heart beat just the tiniest bit faster. Her blood began to burn. It wasn't arousal which triggered this growing sensation. Brow furrowing, she mumbled to herself, "Something's...different..."

Bringing the vehicle to a stop, Vex tapped the top of the car as he said proudly, "Sanctuary and booze at last," before popping out of the driver's side of the car.

"Who's running the place now?" Bo asked as she and Kenzi traipsed after the all too happy Dark Fae. Kenzi had her phone out and was tapping away at the keys as she replied,

"Not sure. Haven't really shown my face in Fae territory much lately. Hale said it was one of Trick's relatives." Pulling the front door open she added, "From Ireland." As they stepped in, they saw a small blonde behind the bar. She looked to be no more than twenty but easily maneuvered several bottles of liquor at a time to the four guests seated in front of her. Her well muscles arms popped and flexed as she twirled the heavy liquor, pouring each shot perfectly to a round of applause. Long blonde hair draped down to her shoulders and bright blue doe eyes beamed toward the three strangers who had just walked into the Dal. "No sneaking any of her lucky charms," Kenzi warned, already seeing the impressed, somewhat flirtatious smile playing at the corners of Bo's lips as they approached, "Fairly certain somehow you two are cousins or something." Clearing her throat and bringing her lips to a purse Bo nodded.

"Yes. Right." Vex was already halfway to the bar and calling out his order before the young blonde behind the counter lilted in a demur Irish accent,

"Dinna tell me. Lemme guess." Vex's mouth closed as his smile twisted with a bit of intrigue. The bartender reached beneath the bar top and pulled out three separate bottles of liquor, pouring each in varying succession. The Mesmer snarked as he looked at the tiny drink being handed to him.

"I wasn't going to order that," he said indignantly as he continued to take the glass and knock it back in one go. A few seconds later he was grinning and beating his chest as he coughed.

"Yes y'were," she said with a cheeky grin eyeing first Bo and then her eyes stopped at Kenzi, her smile growing wider. "Y'moost beh Bo." Her hand extended toward the succubus who smiled. "Hehl sehd y'would beh stoopin' bei." Kenzi reached over the counter and pulled out a bottle of vodka before she was immediately stopped by the woman behind the counter.

"I have an open tab," Kenzi insisted, rather perterbed she was being kept from her bottle of bourbon lover. The blonde giggled cheekily as she pried Kenzi's fingers from the neck of the bottle.

"Promise I hahve summin' beh'er," she said, her voice dropping a bit as she replaced the bourbon and reached for two smaller bottles just behind her. Dropping some ice into a small glass she filled it accordingly with one darker liquid swimming brighter than the other. The second ingredient turned the drink into a light green as she slid the concoction over to Kenzi. "If y'dinna like eht the entire bo'ehl uv barbon es yours." Kenzi eagerly knocked back half of the drink. As she lowered the glass her face soured.

"Dammit. It's delicious." The three women smiled at one another as Bo's attention turned to stranger.

"Kenzi tells me you're...related to Trick?" The blonde nodded.

"His niece. One of hoondreds'm shar. Lila McCorrigan."

"So does that make you Fae?" Kenzi asked. "What are you some kind of leprechaun or something?" Kenzi giggled at her own joke but Lila's gaze darted down a bit. "Holy shit, are you serious?" The Russian girl couldn't keep the happy surprise out of her voice as she took another sip of her drink, turning on the bar stool to hide how big her grin was growing.

"Imma Look Fae," she snapped.

"Look?" Kenzi asked, cocking her eyebrow in surprise. Before she could utter another word, the stool beneath her snapped and she fell hard to the ground. Vex practically howled as she said,

"Rotten luck that, eh, Kenz?" before turning back to the conversation he was having with some shadier looking occupants of the building. Kenzi's eyes darted to Lila who was wearing a pleased and smug look on her face as the girl got to her feet.

"Oh," Kenzi grumbled, "Luck." Bo did her best to hide a smile behind her fingertips before turning her attention back to Lila.

"You said Hale was expecting us. How could he know I was even on the radar again?" Looking about, Lila muttered as she glanced in Vex's direction,

"Not here. Come on." Bo and Kenzi followed Lila into the back room which led to the staircase of the pit of the Dal. Once they reached the bottom Lila crossed to Trick's old desk and began rummaging about it's contents.

"Do you know where Trick is?" Bo immediately asked. The little luck Fae looked over her shoulder with a sad smile,

"N'more than you do, I'm sure." Picking up a thick deck of Tarot cards, she handed the stack to Bo. "Dinna know how thehs'll help weth yer other problems bu' eht's assumedleh a star'." Bo's eyes narrowed as she recognized the gold design and outline. "Theh're nah lieke regalahr car's, Bo. Ehch woon drohn reveals a sehcreh' tew tha behrahr." Kenzi blinked several times before she said,

"What she say?" Bo swallowed before repeating it for Kenzi.

"I'm assuming Trick has left me his "magic cards." Must've forgotten to add the little white rabbit and top hat as well. Supposedly I flip one over and it leads me to something I need." Crossing her arms and trying not to look to indignant at the need to be translated for, Lila nodded her head.

"Goh' anither option?" she asked. Shaking her head, Bo turned the first card over in the stack, her breath catching in her throat and her heart stopping in her chest at the hand's reveal.

"Well shit," Kenzi groaned as she looked over Bo's shoulder at the card, which had a clear picture of a woman dressed in regal gowns, attending to the aid of a second person in the picture. The card's name below revealed,

_The Healer._


	3. It's A Long Time To Miss Me

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. Things are definitely picking up in pace, hope everyone is enjoying the ride. We definitely are. So please, read, review, spread the word! Cheers!**

**CHAPTER THREE: It's A Long Time To Miss Me**

"November 8th, 10:15 in the a.m. Level C clearance has been granted to my name, giving me privileges just above custodial staff and considerably below my qualifications. Still, I have access to the basic labs, under the guise of an intern, which is workable. I slept throughout the night. It is difficult to tell, but I believe no new bruises have come up, nor any memories or dreams to suggest disturbance. After my newness wears off and the rest of the staff take their eyes off of me, I plan to run as many discreet samples as I am able. I cannot help but wonder how Taft took to his surgery; moreso, I cannot help but hope that he is as purple as I am."

Lauren listened to the entirety of the segment with her forehead resting against the tiny plane window, pausing the tape before it cycled into November 8th's p.m. entry. Even had this not been her third replay of the entirety of her logs since the flight began, Lauren knew what to expect for the next uneventful thirty minutes – two weeks of disappointment, loneliness and an exponentially declining apprehension of her life after the surgery. Nothing had changed. Not really. Not meaningfully. The only things she had to adjust to were the sporadic bruising, body pains and dreamless nights spent with the man that could take the most from her. _Such a fruitful venture._

Plucking the ear buds free from her ears, Lauren wrapped the cord about the voice recorder and stowed both items into her carry-on bag. Lauren could feel the pressure in the cabin shifting as outside her window the ground grew closer. The familiar veins of home, clogged with the usual mid-afternoon traffic, filled Lauren with a sudden, unexpected and overwhelming wave of panic. Back at the facilities, she knew what she was doing. Wake up, log an entry, science, eat, science, log an entry, go to sleep. It was easy. It was clockwork. It wasn't the insurmountable task of coming face to face after three weeks of dead air with the woman she wanted to and feared to see most.

_How can I go back? I left to find something . . . or fix something . . . or . . . change . . . something—anything to feel like I could stand beside you and not chase after heels long out of view. I haven't done that. I'm no different. Except now I've spoken to you words of fiction that, if I'm being honest, have attempted to take root in my mind prior. Dyson's alive, but a comatose man can't exactly tell you how I did not try to harm him outside of what was needed to fool Taft. Bo . . . Gods, what you must think of me. How can I go back with nothing more to give and so much more to make up for?_

* * *

Bo's hands shook as she held the card splayed in her palm. "No ehneewoon who fehts thah' descrehpshun?" Lila asked as she popped open the nearby bottle of brandy and placed a glass firmly down on the wooden desk. She poured Bo a glass as the succubus continued to stare at the image. Her heart clenched as Kenzi reached for the alcohol being offered to her best friend and shot the burning liquid back in one go.

"Something like that," Kenzi mused, her eyes roaming over Bo for a brief moment. "Still breathing, Bo Bo?" the tiny Russian asked as Bo blinked a few times to regain her focus.

_"Oh thank god you're ok," Lauren turned to reject Bo's embrace immediately, her head cast downward as a hand raised between them. Bo's hands stilled from embracing the woman she still loved despite their relationship status circumstances, and lowered when she realized Lauren didn't want her to touch her._

_"You came for Dyson," her voice echoed in a blase tone. Bo's brow furrowed as she tried to read the nonchalance coupled with the distance being forced being shoved between them at Lauren's insistence. "I knew you would." Bo's brow furrowed, her mind unable to wrap around the given circumstances she had found herself in._

_"Actually, I traced the number on __**your**__ phone. I can save you both."_

Lauren had other ideas entirely. Ideas which burned beneath Bo's skin. Ideas radiated in something more than betrayal, in hurt, in anger. Lauren had...wounded her.

_"Lauren, what is this?"_

_"The Fae have ruined my life, Bo. They have cursed my girlfriend, they have held me prisoner, sometimes literally. And all the while my brain...my talents...don't you see? This is a chance for __**me**__ to do something meaningful. To save __**my**__ kind." Bo refused to believe anything Lauren was saying, certain that the woman she loved could never hold such bitterness in her heart toward anyone or anything._

_"You have been brainwashed. This is not you."_

_"Oh, please, Bo." The rest of Lauren's words drowned out in her head. She'd never been dismissed by the doctor before, shrugged off as if her thoughts her opinion, her feelings didn't matter. She knew she was a monster. She couldn't have ever comprehended that Lauren held an element of darkness within her. Until that very moment where her heart wasn't just broken, it had been ripped from her. From a hand she'd only previously known could do good. It confused and chilled her to the very bone._

"Earth to Bo," Kenzi called, waving her hand between her gaze and the card where Bo's gaze was locked.

"What?" Bo asked, finally turning her eyes to Kenzi who didn't really know what to do apart from shove the newly filled glass of alcohol under Bo's nose. The smell made her sick, so Bo turned from the offering and sat in the nearest chair.

"You never did say what happened to Doctor Heartbreaker," Kenzi mused, shrugging off Bo's rejection of her offering and instead helping herself to it. She took the second hit a bit better than the second and licked her lips. Bo sighed and leaned forward in her chair, about to explain everything when Vex came barreling down the steps, his eyes glinting with mischief as he gripped the railing above him to steady his balance.

"Oi, oi loves! We got delicious trouble!" Bo shot out of her seat as armed guards came charging through all three of the main entrances. Vex's hands shot up to the ones approaching him, causing them to fly back against the hard stone steps, but before he could raise his hands to anyone else there was a gun pressed against his neck.

"I'll shoot you before you even turn," the mask said as even more guns pointed in Bo and Kenzi's direction. They both shot their hands in the air, but not before Kenzi noticed there wasn't a single weapon turned on Lila. The Russian girl practically seethed at the implication.

"We're friends of the Ash, what're you doing?" Bo asked as she felt a metal rod poke into her back.

"We have it under new orders to bring all of you in. You're due for processing."

"Processin'?" Vex asked as he was led down into the center of the underground Dal.

"For an upcoming trial."

"Trial?" Vex asked again, his voice rising into panic at the idea of being brought before any kind of court. His fingers itched to blast the crowd into oblivion, or at the very least make them perform Swan Lake before they immeidately turned their guns on one another, but a head shake from Bo made him curl his hands into fists and bite his tongue.

"S.W.A.T. team isn't necessary," Bo grumbled. The gun shoved her toward the back entrance as the succubus also took notice of Lila's lack of guns aimed in her direction. "You called them?" Lila tapped the side of the desk where she had placed the glass only moments ago. A thin button rested atop it.

"Yer safer in captiviteh thehn outsiede eht, Kenzi," Lila said, a hint of sadness sinking into her voice.

"I should have been safe here," Kenzi responded bitterly. "Always was before." Lila's eyes fell wounded as the only human in the room continued, "Listen, you caught me, ok, I'm the illegal, Bo and Vex aren't-"

"You're Bo's," the one man in the room without a helmet said, crossing from the back of the steps into the room, "and under new Council law she's to face the punishment for harboring food." Bo's eyes brightened as her anger at the insult grew.

"Bo!" Kenzi called out as she saw the gun rise to the back of her best friend's head. "Bo! No, don't it's ok!" The fear in Kenzi's voice brought the succubus' power down before it could start. Still her teeth gnashed as Bo insisted,

"Refer to anything apart from her name, and I'll tear you apart." The bald, helmetless leader glowered at Bo for a moment before nodding his troops toward the door. Blocking the path of Kenzi's captors, Lila grabbed Kenzi's waist, slipping a trinket into her pocket. She kept their eyes locked, the height difference between them laughable as she whispered,

"I'm soorry, Kenzi, I ehm, but y'hahf t'be safe." Kenzi's eyes narrowed as she bit back,

"Guess my luck's run out." Lila's eyes fell yet again as the wounded words pierced her from the path the guards were now leading them toward. With a loud clang of the door, the trio was gone. And a lonely tear fell down Lila's cheek.

"Nah' yeh', Kenz," she whispered to the empty room.

* * *

_Perhaps I should just skip town. Even if Taft was speaking ignorantly, it's more than a little probable that my involvement with his compound has become common knowledge. At the very least, I've directly disobeyed the Ash. Hale or no Hale, I fear leniency in my favor was out of respect for Bo. Without her, what do I have here but enemies? _

Slipping her key into the lock, she held her breath for fear the locks had been changed or cursed and gave a tentative twist, breathing a sigh of relief as the cylinders aligned and clicked smoothly. She let the door open slowly with the light momentum she had given in turning the knob, taking in the whole of her home. Before she even knew what she was looking for, her eyes lept to the edge of the countertop. It was bare, but it only took a second for her to realize why that meant something.

"My phone . . ." she whispered beneath her breath, Bo's memory and the hurt in her eyes resurfacing as she rebutted Lauren's callous and assuming claim.

"_Actually, I traced the number on __**your **__phone."_

A sad smile slowly touched her lips. "Is it ridiculous that hearing you say that actually made me hurt less?" she admitted to the empty room, finally stepping over the threshold to walk to the edge of the counter. Brushing her fingertips along the countertop, she wondered briefly if Bo still had the phone on her. "Are you looking for me now, because I'd really like to hear that you are."

"Good news, Miss Lewis. We are looking for you. Actually, who isn't?" a familiar voice spoke over a disorienting popping noise from behind her. With a slight jump, she whipped around, bracing her back against the countertop as her fingers felt around blindly for something sharp or hard or otherwise disagreeable to a foe's face. Hale gave her half a grimace, eyes sympathetic before they hardened in an authoritative façade. "What did I say, boys? Cast a line and you're bound to get a bite." The two fae on either side of him nodded in agreeance, the one on the right starting for Lauren before Hale extended an arm back to stop him. "Lauren Lewis," Hale addressed formally, looking back at the woman after staying the dark fae lackey to his right with a more effective stare. "You are wanted for crimes against the fae and your detrimental knowledge of our kind. As property of the light, you will come with me until I, the Ash, have tried you in a council of my peers."

"Your peers? Wouldn't it be easier to find a jury of _my_ peers, your highness?" Lauren found herself biting back coolly, feeling the weight of her pendant hang like a stone from her neck – yet it wasn't even there.

"A jury? No. A buffet? Perhaps after our deliberation," Hale replied calmly, keeping his right arm extended back as he nodded to the light fae on his left. Stepping forward, the Scandinavian giant approached Lauren slowly, keeping his steady blue eyes on her during his entire approach. When his fingers wrapped full-circle around her upper arm, she felt the Arctic fill her lungs and the blood in her veins ice over. Knees buckling from the sudden loss of feeling throughout her body, Lauren could only watch and tremble as the ice giant scooped her up and carried her to Hale's side, like a puppy caught by the scruff of the neck.

Looking at Lauren only through his peripherals at this point, Hale straightened and smoothed his tie. "Beam us up, Peggy," he chimed as he looked to the ceiling, right before the roar of air suctioning deafened the frozen doctor.

* * *

The trio had been shoved into the back of a black van and handcuffed to inside benches. A pair of magical restraints were added to Vex's shackles to prevent him from harming his guards in any way. The three exchanged a look one to the other, each had a set of guards on either side of them. As the motor beneath them revved, they pulled out of their parking space with a quick jolt and headed down the road. Vex tugged at his restraints, looking for a small weakness in the combination of thick, restricting enchanted vine and good old fashioned chains. Kenzi's head was lulled back, her demeanor uncharacteristically quiet, all snide comments about their situation out of her usual banter and vernacular. Kenzi's big doe baby blues landed on Bo who was leaning back against the van's cool metal wall, still as a statue.

Deep in thought, Bo felt her stomach tightening as she thought, _I've taken out far more than this. No one thought to duct tape my mouth shut._

A small smile clicked at the corner of the succubus' mouth which caused Kenzi's brow to furrow as she tried to decide where Bo had a plan or was simply enjoying the sensation of the restraints vs. the swerving vehicle. The van picked up speed as the squashed crowd was shoved together, back and forth. Each guard grabbed a hold of the handles above as Vex, Kenzi, and Bo struggled to keep upright. Feeling a tight pull on his restraints, Vex, grumbled in a huff,

"Never said I'd go to the pokey for ya, love, this is gonna cost Hale double." Kenzi's eyes remained blank and forward as she replied bitterly,

"Who do you think is acting commander and chief of this little operation."

"Quiet!" one of the guards barked. "It's punishable by death for human to speak treachery against the Ash."

"How is it treachery if she's nothing more than a snack?" Bo bit back in the guard's general direction. The man played right into her hands, removing his mask and glowering down at her. Bo smiled before reaching up with her legs and wrapping him close to her. His lips parted in shock just as her own came close to his. Her eyes glowed bright and her skin started to hum and vibrate.

"Bo..." Kenzi's voice echoed out in the tin confines, but the succubus was focused on pulling the chi from the human before her...and beside her...and the two next to Vex and Kenzi as well. Despite the fact each armed guard's faces were covered with masks, the chi still floated through the van and past Bo's lips.

"Holy shit!" Vex cried, practically bouncing in his seat at the impressive stretch of Fae ability, while Kenzi's mouth gaped. Bo's head swam from the draw, her pulse beat so heavily she could actually feel the blood pumping into her fingertips, toes, neck and eyes. With a lick of her lips she released her pull on the humans.

Kenzi blinked a few times before sticking the thin, long heel of her boot into the beltloop of the passed out guard in front of her. Latching the extension through fabric attached to a set of keys she gave the clasp a hard tug before breaking it and tossing the keys in Bo's direction. With a light clank they landed in Bo's lap and after some readjusting, fell within reach of her hands on the thin metal bench. "Hurry it up, love, before these Rambo wanna-bes come to." Just as the words left Vex's lips a light click of a lock and a breath of a grin on Bo's face signaled her release. Quickly she freed Kenzi, who rubbed her wrists appreciatively and immediately kicked the guard who had barked at her earlier, and Vex, who flexed his now free fingers with glee.

"How do we get this motor un-running?" Kenzi asked, nodding in the direction of the still swerving and speeding driver. Bo locked eyes with Kenzi who read the expression on her best friend's face immediately as, 'we don't.' "Bo, seriously? You want us to go in guns blazing into this duo-lounging bastille of light and dark without any...gun?" Bo sighed heavily before she unlocked the back doors to the van as it began to slow and turn a corner. She nodded to Vex before grabbing Kenzi and leading her to the exit. "Bo, wait, Bo, no what are you doing?"

"You're not," Bo said solemnly, hoping her best friend would forgive her for what she was about to do, "Just me." Kenzi's eyes grew wide and her mouth opened to protest before Vex grabbed the young human by the shoulders and pulled them out of the turning vehicle. The duo rolled away from the speeding van and as it disappeared out of sight Bo listened to the hurt and outraged cries of her name coming from her best friend. Slamming the doors shut, Bo settled against the bench yet again with a heavy, forelorn sigh.

Lulling her head back against the cold, unyielding van, Bo tried to block out the internal echo of Kenzi's hurt and anger, but it only served to puncture the ever present scar labelled, 'Bo's Never-Ending Guilt,' which was masked over a deeper wound known as 'Bo's Ever-Present-Fear-Of-Self.'

_How did I know I could do that...on call? Freak accidents follow me everywhere, most of the time I'm the root of that but...this is becoming more and more of a regular occurence. Bo wants, Bo gets, and in a highly charged, soul-sucking kind of way._

Gripping her head she leaned her elbows into her knees.

_I've got to get around people who know how to fill in the blanks, even if it's super dangerous for me. But not at Kenzi's expense. Nothing will ever be a high enough price for her safety, and I can't help her...help myself...help anyone, if I'm having to worry about who is going to snatch her up next. _

Her mind shot to Lauren's eyes the last time she saw them: vacant, distant, but maybe just the tiniest bit...beckoning.

_Kenzi...Lauren...anyone. I don't know what games Hale is playing, I don't know what all these new rules regarding human/Fae interaction mean. I don't know what's happening to me, where I was, what was done to me but...I know I won't get any answers sitting still._

The van pulled to a stop, just as all the guards at Bo's feet began to stir. "Perfect timing," she said, as she sat up and waited to be exhumed from the sleeping den. The massive doors opened and the driver of the vehicle gaped at the sight before him.

"What the hell happened? Where are the rest of the prisoners?" Bo grinned at the befuddled and somewhat terrified looking young man, her hands folded daintly over her lap, displaying the fact she was quite free and remaining obediently put.

"Nobody in here but us faeries, and overly padded sleeping beauties." One of the guards scrambled to his feet and with a disgruntled huff, yanked Bo from her seat and led the succubus to her intended destination.

* * *

Still shivering as the needle-prick sensation of her blood flow slowly returning to normal coursed through her pale body, Lauren gathered as much of the thick, scratchy blanket of her cot around her body as she could, glowering out past the steel bars constituting one-fourth of the walls of her cell. The other three were thick cement, marred with chips and claw marks undoubtedly left by stronger beings than herself. The cell reeked of moldy earth and stale blood, but the worst part? The lone, goddamned halogen pole shining down on her like some self-righteous deity, illuminating every imperfection in her tired skin. _Out of the frying pan, into the fire._

Lauren's eyes never left Hale as he conversed with his two escorts, back turned to her. They both shot looks back at Lauren before seeing themselves out, leaving Hale to visibly exhale before turning on his heels and approaching the bars. Even though Lauren was huddled against the far wall, Hale made it a point to remain out of the doctor's reach, pocketing both his hands in his well-pressed slacks. "I'm sorry about this, Lauren. I know it doesn't seem it, but I've actually saved your life. For the time being, anyway."

"Forgive me if I don't kiss your ring, my Ash," Lauren bit through chattering teeth.

"The Dark want you dead. Recent events have forced me to reveal Light fae intelligence in a mutual agreement to bridge the gap between us. Needless to say, the Dark are appalled that the late Ash brought a human so deep into the fold. You're practically public enemy #1." Hale paused, whether to gather his thoughts or to give Lauren a chance to interject unclear. Lauren's intent, however, was perfectly crystalline as she stared Hale down, lips thin and tight. Words had never won her anything before. How could they, when the beings she served stood so far out of ear's reach?

"I've sent request to the Morrigan to put you to trial on the grounds of your loyal servitude. I can't even guarantee that it will be granted, or that the trial will be any more than a delay in the inevitable. Time is all I can give you, and I apologize for that."

Despite herself, Lauren relented. "You're a good man, Hale. And unfortunately for me, a better politician." Hale's lips twitched open as if to say something before he lowered his head, a wry smile sewing them shut.

Before another word could be exchanged between the two, an armed fae entered, walking over to and whispering in Hale's ear before awaiting further command.

Looking back at Lauren, he said, "I can give you one other thing." Turning back to the soldier, he nodded, sending the soldier back out the door he came in. When the door opened next, Lauren quickly rose to her feet, the wool blanket sliding from her shoulders. Hands still in his pockets, Hale looked from Lauren to Bo, then simply walked out.

* * *

"I know you," Dyson uttered, standing erect, his shoulders rolling back as he looked into the golden eyes of a familiar, peppered wolf. As he stared, he both anticipated and feared that the being before him would dissipate under his scrutiny. He was on the precipice of madness – that moment where he stood on the ledge, looking down, seeing nothing but a stony grave and nothing but the swirl of color void of his surroundings simultaneously. He knew it'd be madness to jump, but it would be madder to stay suspended in the stillness.

The wolf held an equally defensive stance, massive paws planted square and firm on the ground until suddenly it broke into a mad dash towards the man before him. The motion was a confirmation for Dyson. Real or not, this thing was charging. Anything was a welcome change to the nothingness around him. Spreading his arms out, his head lulled back and his eyes closed. Only a yard away, the wolf sprang into the air with the full force of its haunches, sailing towards Dyson's chest. At the point of collision, transparent energy rippled across Dyson's chest, ripping open to accept the beast that had found its way back to him. In another second, the wolf was gone, fully enveloped. In the second after that, Dyson's eyes snapped open to the sight of ceiling tiles, the overpowering scent of sterilization suffocating his senses.


	4. The Horror Of My Other Half

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Apologies for how long this took us guys, we've had a hectic schedule* lately. Hopefully it was well worth the wait! -Whedonite**

***It was my birthday. I was not sober. For awhile. Good thing they only come once a year! -ItFeelsSoWrite**

**Read, review, enjoy!**

**CHAPTER FOUR: The Horror Of My Other Self**

Vex reached out to touch Kenzi's shoulder but she brushed it off, keeping her eyes transfixed on the disappearing van. "Don't," she quietly warned, dusting off the remains of the alley muck from her black, leather ensemble. "I'm fine."

"Whatever you say, love," Vex replied, leaning against the nearest brick wall and pulling a cigarette from a pack. He dangled one from his lips as he lit up and said, "So what's the plan from here?"

Kenzi's fists clenched and unclenched twice as she racked her brain for what to do and where to go next. Bo wasn't getting out of this that easily, the minute the succubus was in sight, she was going to hear so many expletives in Russian she'd know the goddamn language by the time Kenzi was through with her. Provided of course...Bo didn't get herself killed. Kenzi's heel beat against the concrete in frustration as she turned back to Vex, trying to remain as calm and rational as her quick nature allowed.

"If they were ballsy enough to break into the Dal to get me then the apartment isn't safe anymore. I suppose all we can do is...no, y'know what, no!" Kenzi threw up her arms in protest before snatching Vex's cigarette from his lips, occasionally pointing at him with the orange end for emphasis, "I'm not laying down and taking this one! Bo is getting clapped away on my behalf and I'm not going to let her go down because of my DNA, ok?" She clipped the end of the stick's cherry with a snap of her fingers before she mashed the remained into the wet ground below.

"That was my last one!" Vex cried out indignantly.

"We need to commandeer a vehicle," Kenzi decided, her eyes immediately prowling the streets for anything which looked like it didn't run on high automatic power. "Something from the 90s preferably, incognito kind of shit." Turning the corner she didn't care if Vex followed. Human or not, Fae or not, Kenzi was tired of living in hiding. There was a time to run and and a time to fight. Bo had taught Kenzi when one was more important than the other and she had just gotten her best friend back. No act of heroics was seperating them again. Ever.

_Ok so I get a car. Then what? I don't even know where they were going! Suppose Hale didn't take her to Chateu de Ash, where would I even begin to look?_

Her thin heel caught in a hole in the concrete and she staggered as her heel ankle twisted, nearly taking her to the ground. At the last second she landed her balance, bracing her now stinging palms against the trunk of an SUV.

"Es oonlocked. Leaves heh's kees ehn the ooverhet coompar'men'."

Kenzi's eyes narrowed as she turned over her shoulder and saw Lila standing behind her, looking a bit sheepish but still smiling, head dipping out of an oversized parka. If it weren't for the raging flush in her cheeks, Kenzi's smoking breath would have reminded her of the temperature drop since leaving the Dal. As it was...Kenzi approached Lila in a few quick steps, finger out and pointed down at the smaller girl.

"Y'know, normally I'd be a little leery about pissing off a Fae who could royally shit on my day, but given the current circumstances, I'll take my chances." Kenzi shoved Lila, hard, causing the girl to stumble back, her hands flying out of her jacket pockets. "Who are you really working for, huh? Because Trick would've never sold me out like that..." Kenzi paused, cleared her throat, and resituated her stance, "...again. At least not without reason."

"Kenzi, I tol' ya, I hahd ta. I wasn' plahnen on ya fallin' oot tha back'a'tha' truck now were I?" Kenzi blinked a few times, trying to register the broken English to her untrained ears. Lila peered up at Kenzi with honestly remoreseful and concerned eyes, the bright green in them sparking a bit the longer Kenzi continued to look at her. Clearing her throat and nervously shifting on the spot, Kenzi replied,

"Ok, I didn't hear an apology anywhere in there so how about we try something different. How did you find me?" With a woeful sigh, Lila pointed to a hole in Kenzi's beltloop.

"Yer no' gonna like eht." Kenzi practically glowered at Lily before she followed the direction which the small Irish Fae's finger was aimed at. Pulling down the lining of the belt loop, Kenzi shrieked as she saw-

"A tattoo! When ja get that done?" Vex beamed, staring just as much at the dip in Kenzi's hipbone as the bright green four-leaf clover on her skin. Kenzi's mouth opened and closed several times as she kept looking from Lila back to the ink and back at Lila.

"How-the actual hell-did you do this?" Lila swallowed before she answered,

"Chehk yer pockeh'," Kenzi's eyes narrowed but she reached into her jean pocket none the less and removed a small black stone. "Eht's enchahntehd ta mahk the behrrerr ahn whenevah yer in dangeh the look fae hahs no ither choice boot ta coome roonin'." Kenzi blinked several times before she turned to Vex and groaned,

"What?" Slightly amused by the situation, Vex rubbed his finger over his mustache which danced atop a mischievous grin before he said,

"Basically, the stone is a charm. It marked you and now whenever shit hits the perverbial fan, little miss Darby-O-Gill here has to come save yer arse." He chuckled a bit as he turned to the smaller girl, "Ye got any cigarettes, luck fae?"

"Eht only works fah her," Lila said bitterly, her attention turning back to Kenzi to offer more of an explanation but Kenzi was quick to cut her off,

"Look we'll deal with you branding-"

"Charrmen'"

"Whatever, later. Do you have a car, chariot, dream rainbow catcher or anything? We've got to get to Bo." Lila's lips pursed for a minute before she conceded,

"Well...thar's the liquor van." Kenzi popped up on the spot, seeming jovial for the very first time in hours.

"Woo! All right, then, you can drive and I'll keep to the back and watch for bad guys. And guard the liquor." Turning over her shoulder Kenzi made her way down the street in the direction of the Dal as Lila added,

"Eht's empty." Groaning and rolling her eyes as she turned the corner, Kenzi sighed.

"Of course it is."

* * *

The door shut behind Bo with a loud clang of metal to metal. For several seconds she just stared through the bars at Lauren, combating all the emotions going on inside: to run to her, to kiss her, to hold her…to slap her across the face! Swallowing she approached slowly, Lauren's eyes locked into hers, but she didn't move or appear like she wanted to speak first. Bo didn't know if she could either. When there was only a few inches separating the two former lovers, the succubus reached into her back pocket and held up the Healer card she had drawn moments before being whisked away to the compound. "Trick's little magic bag seems to think I needed to see you," she said in a voice clearer than the one raging in her head.

In an inquisitive, but trepid tone, Lauren carefully asked, "And what about you? Do you think the same?" Approaching the bars, Lauren wrapped her palms around them. She wouldn't reach out for the succubus. She wasn't convinced she had earned that right back, and with so much space for Bo to retreat in whilst the cage held her confined . . . she couldn't bear the thought of causing Bo to recoil.

Bo's hand started to shake as she held the card within her fingers, the light twinge of the light paper hitting her fingers caused her to shove the card back into her pocket. She didn't know where Lauren stood with things, after all, last she checked, she had absolutely no intention of aligning herself with Bo at all. In any form or fashion. Bo exhaled slowly, searching for a place to start in her mind, the card being her only form of a solid communication opener. Although, she supposed she had one other question to get answered before she flew into a plethora of incessant hurt rambling, "Why does Hale have you in a cage? I thought you weren't Fae property anymore."

Bo's misdirection did not go unnoticed, Lauren's hope deflating but not altogether evacuating her. Things were bad. She knew that. To kid herself into thinking anything else would have been senseless, and to think that someone that loved as deeply as Bo could simply plunge in again without knowing what the depths held . . . even fae were sometimes only human when it came right down to it. "If it were as easy as taking off the necklace, I would have been free the moment you released me," Lauren murmured forlornly, her grip on the bars turning white as she fought the urge to bridge the distance between them, if only to glean a second of comfort. "Bo, I think they mean to execute me. The dark know about my involvement with the Ash. I . . . don't know if I'm getting out of this one." In a moment of fear so profound, Lauren's hand dropped from the bar to reach out for Bo's waist, where her hand laid tensely at her side. Her fingertips grazed the inside of Bo's wrist, but she couldn't bring herself to take Bo's fingers. Intimacy with Bo was something to be asked for, not taken, and the fear that spurred her to action was that it would never be given again in this lifetime.

The words sunk in like a heavy brick. As frustrated as she was with Lauren, as livid as she knew she had the right to be and with Lauren standing there knowing she knew she should give her the tongue lashing of her life. She had every right to demand that Lauren explain why she had refused to come away with her from the compound. But when she looked into those brown eyes, and saw the terror behind them, she hated that there was something in this world putting that there. When Lauren's fingertips brushed against her, reached for her, she wanted so badly to reach back, to break the bars open, and charge her out of there like some gallivanting hero. She locked her fingers around Lauren's wrist, and immediately felt the doctor wrap her fingers up against hers. Bo shut her eyes and felt tears fall from the frustrating emotions tumbling inside her. She squeezed Lauren's hand tightly, keeping her head slightly downcast, and through a sharp inhale and gritted teeth whispered, "I. Am so. _Angry_ with you." Before Lauren could respond to her words, Bo reached through the bars and brought their faces together in a heated and passionate kiss.

Every little part of Lauren that nitpicked and muttered and rebelled inside her disintegrated against Bo's lips as Lauren's eagerly parted to taste Bo once more. Her fists clung to the collar of Bo's jacket so tightly that she would pull away with the zipper design indented on her palm – that is, if she ever did let go. "I love you, Bo. I have never stopped loving you," she murmured between kisses, feeling the urgency wane between them as Bo paused to take in yet another heavy dose of information. Meeting Bo's eyes, Lauren repeated, hoping to chase away all doubt in the shaking, chocolate irises of the woman she wanted so desperately to make things right with. "I _love_ you."

Bo pulled away at Lauren's words, trying to catch her breath. "It's too much," she mumbled to herself. "It's all—" Clutching her eyes shut, her head started pounding again, the same migraine inducing electrical current she had felt earlier in the day when she had a flashback. Only none came this time, only this feeling of very certain foreboding. Shaking her head just slightly, her hands fell from where they had previously grappled around Lauren's neck to her shoulders so she could steady herself. "Lauren, I don't know how much time we have. I'm not wasting it on some stupid farewell because there isn't one, at least not this way, not like this. If you're set to be…" she couldn't bring herself to say the word, "…put on trial, and if I can't find a safe way for you to escape, I'll do-I'll do whatever it is they want, I'll—" she considered the next few words very carefully before she said them, but she knew there wasn't any other way this was going to go. There never had been, "—I'll align. I'll choose. Whatever it takes to spare your life. To free Kenzi from this witch hunt. If selling myself to this mad house unshackles the people I love…what other choice do I have?"

Panic widened Lauren's eyes and pursed her lips before she drew herself as close to the bars as she could, eyes jumping between Bo's. "Listen to me when I say this. The moment you side – the moment you decide that you owe the world a debt and not the other way around – you'll be somebody else's. _Forever_. This is bigger than us. This is bigger than Hale. No one can promise you anything, but anyone can take your strength if you let them. You know I speak from experience," Lauren urged, images of Nadia playing through her head up until her death, until somewhere along the line it was Bo looming over Bo's bleeding body, knife in hand. It was enough to make her nauseous, but she did not let it deter her speech. "They'll prey on you and take what you wanted to keep dear. You have always found a way. Your way. I have more faith in you than anything else."

Lauren released Bo's jacket to run her palms up the length of Bo's arms to where her hands rested at her shoulders. "Hale says there may be a trial, and regardless of my crimes, my knowledge is invaluable. I know the fae better than they know themselves." Lauren took a steadying breath before simultaneously trying to convince herself and Bo of her next claim. "I will convince them that I am worth more to them alive than I am dead. I'm a human, after all, right? A human could never trump the fae twice.

"Lauren the Fae have lost all _sense _of _reason_," Bo insisted, her hands tightening just the tiniest bit on Lauren's shoulders, "They're not governed by logic anymore, they're governed by selfishness and _politics_. Besides, it doesn't matter what branding iron they stick to my skin," her fingertips reached up and ran into Lauren's long blonde hair. She was struck with the brief memory of it laying across her pillow, how it danced against the shade in the early morning, covered against her silken sheets. "As long as you remember the better parts of me, then I will never be anyone else's."

Squeezing Bo's hands, a genuine, soft smile graced Lauren's lips, her head dipping slightly, relishing Bo's words, letting them fill the emptiness that had settled in her the moment she turned her back on Bo at the compound. "I could never forget you," she reassured in an intimate murmur before the sound of the door opening drew her attention over Bo's shoulder. Sensing they were experiencing their last few seconds together, Lauren's freshly-trembling hands anchored atop Bo's desperately.

"It will work out, Bo. Take care of Kenzi," Lauren began to whisper in a rush, reaching out to cup Bo's cheeks, feeling the flush of anger and hurt and not-enough-time warm her clammy hands. "I _will_ see you again."

"This isn't happening again," Bo swore, feeling the urgency reach into the pit of her stomach and shoot her eyes into focus. The second the door opened she approached the nearest guard, "I wish to speak to the Ash," she said firmly, "or the Morrigan or whoever the hell is in charge these days, Tinkerbell? Voldemort?" The guard shot her a nasty look before his partner behind him went to Lauren's cell and slipped a key inside. "Where are you taking her?" Bo demanded, her path being blocked not just by the nearest guards presence but a gun pointed directly at her chest.

"They said we'd have to remove the doctor by force," he said with an arrogant grin. "She's due for trail. You're here to act as a witness on her behalf."

"Not before I talk to Hale!" Bo insisted.

"Bo," Lauren interrupted as the guard slipped a pair of handcuffs onto her, "it's all right."

"Like hell any of this is all right!" The gun pressed firmer into her chest as she was guided toward the door. If there was a plan to be hatched it had to be thought up and fast. Before they reached the threshold of the cell block, Bo turned over her shoulder and met Lauren's eyes. They were fixed firmly ahead, and the succubus wished she could tick her brain quickly enough to think of a way of escaping. Looking around at the ceiling it was easily a mile above her head, there was no way she could jump. There were no windows, but there were only two guards. She'd taken out at least six in that van, but then there had been an element of escape. They could wander around here for hours before inevitably being caught and probably, at least in Lauren's case, killed right on the spot. The one and only option was to get to Hale somehow, someway.

"Will the Ash be present for the trial?" Lauren summoned up the courage to speak, quickly rediscovering that a Bo in distress turned to her more primal instincts of "suck face now, talk probably never". The guard's grip on her upper arm tightened and the barrel of his gun dug sharply against her spine, but the man relinquished a reply anyway, if only to have an excuse to snarl his words.

"It's only right for the owner to be there when his dog is put down." Lauren winced, subconsciously holding her breath as she expected any minute for her aggressive escort to crumple to the floor in a heap. _Just let it be, Bo_.

Hearing the tone the guard had taken with Lauren, Bo stopped directly in her tracks. She felt her eyes begin to glow as the gun pressed into her back. "Move along," the guard commanded, but Bo turned ferociously, her lips curled into a snarl as the blue in her eyes was now as bright as her flushed cheeks. She knocked the gun away which was looming closer to her head and shoved the guard out of the way. Taking the guard holding Lauren by the throat, Bo's face snarled as her thumb and forefinger reached up into the man's face and pried his mouth open. She immediately began to suck the life out of him with a hasty and thirsty vengeance wrought by the man's disgusting display of indecency toward his escorted prisoners. The chi radiated through Bo and somewhere deep inside she heard Lauren's voice echo in her ear for her to stop. She even felt hands on her arm, but she pulled them away and only grappled her victim tighter, sucking harder and faster. She watched with warm delight as the guard's life drained out of his face, and his eyes were about to go white as he died until she felt a sharp blow to the back of her head and everything went black.

* * *

Somewhere along the labyrinthine stretches of hallway, Bo had been separated from her, pulled aside into a similar, symmetrical hallway. The distance did not go unnoticed, and though Lauren knew better than to try to break away and reunite with Bo, it did not stop each step from growing heavier with the task of preservation.

Another turn found Lauren beginning the long walk down a concrete corridor. Her steps and the guard's echoed loudly against the walls, which seemed to narrow the further along they went, until Lauren couldn't remember what silence sounded like. And then she heard people. A low, but continuous chatter filtered in from ahead, brightness outside the orange-tinted tunnel lights slowly lightening their surroundings.

There were no double doors or even an archway to mark the transition from hallway to courtroom as suddenly the cement ceiling only a few feet above was gone, opening up into a generous dome. The whole room was circular, a half of it lined with benches occupied by more fae than she had ever seen in the Dal, all talking amongst themselves, only a few noticing her arrival with hushed whispers and pointing. Ahead of her and towering above all other positions was what Lauren could only assume was the judge's stand as she quickly accessed that she was in a courtroom. In the very center of the room, isolated by ten feet of open air on all sides, was a weathered wooden chair, more akin to a throne if thrones had leather bindings installed on the armrests and front legs. There was no doubt in her mind that this was to be her seat, surrounded by fae who wanted nothing more than to kill humans in the name of unity. As if they had room to judge her.

Realizing she no longer felt the small, sharp pressure of a gun barrel digging into her back, Lauren cast a look behind her. Her escort had fallen out of step with her at the entrance, taking post on the left side to compliment the guard already on post at the right. The chatter continued, and with no one at the judge's stand, Lauren stood looking nervously about for any familiar faces.

_I thought Bo was supposed to be my witness. Why did they lead her away so far back? There's no way the rooms could be connected._

"Dr. Lewis?" an unusually silky, male voice spoke just out of her vision, causing her to turn in curiosity. She saw a tall blur of red before her vision steadied, taking in the well-groomed and even better-dressed man smiling at her. With light turquoise eyes, short, slightly wavy ginger hair and a thin, trimmed goatee-and-mustache combo of the same shade, the thin stranger seemed almost gentle despite Lauren's current situation. His smile broadened briefly before he withdrew his hand from his pant pocket to present to Lauren in a gesture of good will. "You've not spoken a word and yet I can already tell that the rumors of your intelligence are true. They must be. You think for yourself."

"Pardon?" Lauren asked warily, shaking her wrists just enough for the cuffs to rattle and excuse her from taking his hand.

An embarrassed chuckle of "Oh, of course," tumbled out of the man's smiling lips before he ran the offered hand through his hair. Straightening his posture, he stepped past the hiccup without another thought. "A dog sees a ball, he will fetch it, because his brand of intelligence is repetition and expectation. You see the chair, and yet you don't sit. Your mind asks 'why?' and is not sated by the simpler answer of 'because I am supposed to'."

"Defiance is hardly intelligence. At the end of the day, the dog gets fed and praised," Lauren dismissed the smooth-talker's words after a moment's consideration, unable to get a vibe other than the one she sensed he was purposefully exuding.

"To wake up another day as a pet," the words rolled off the stranger's tongue as if he had anticipated Lauren's cynicism. "Reese," he chimed, pressing a finger against his sternum before smoothing out the indention left in his pressed tie. "I am the dark fae representative for this trial."

"So you're speaking against me?" Lauren inquired.

"Against? I wouldn't say against. I'll merely be presenting concerns to you. It's up to you whether your answers are abrasive to our interests or not."

Frowning, unsatisfied with Reese's answer, Lauren tried another route. "Who is defending me?"

"You are," Reese responded, staring a moment at Lauren before his eyes narrowed just the slightest, tongue darting briefly past his lips before he cocked his head to the side. "You're under the assumption this is a court of law. Oh my, of course you are. My apologies." Running his fingernails through the scruff of his beard, he gathered his thoughts before explaining. "Excuse me for being frank, but you don't have rights. You're a Big Mac. The only law protecting you right now is that the former Ash claimed you and passed you down to his successors. We're not discussing the merits of your innocence. We're more or less weighing the pros and cons of keeping you alive. The dark have concerns, as do the light, and with our newly-formed alliance, an open, public forum was decided the best way to handle your particular case." Reese paused a moment, continuing to toy with his beard as he lost himself in thought. "Well, I suppose Big Mac wouldn't be accurate. You're filet mignon. Even still."

"Reese! Eyes up. The Ash and Morrigan are taking stand," another male voice strained through a loud whisper behind Lauren. "And we'll all get out of here just in time for lunch if you'd go ahead and just sit, Dr. Lewis."

Lauren did not even bother to turn her head and acquaint herself with the new stranger. Chances were she'd be chatting him up against her will shortly. At Lauren's brief moment of silent rebellion, Reese grinned before leaning into her ear. "How about I buy you a filet mignon if you don't become one today?" Knowing he wouldn't receive a verbal reply, he merely winked before withdrawing and taking a few steps backward, gesturing to the chair suggestively before folding his hands together at his waist and turning his body and respects to the towering stand.

"Brothers and sisters!" Hale's voice boomed above the chatter, pausing until it died beneath his demand for silence. Walking side by side with a small, but noticeable gap between the two, came Hale and Evony up the stairs to the two throne-like seats overlooking the judgment room. As they took their respective seats, Hale's eyes cast down to Lauren. Meeting his eyes, she stiffly settled into the seat in the center of the room, half-expecting Reese and the blonde man opposite him to come to her side and strap her in. When no one moved to do so, she settled a bit more comfortably, Hale's eyes now back on the crowd as Evony took over.

"Today we present you with the Ash's favored pet! Having pledged to the late Ash six years ago, the supposedly brilliant mind of Dr. Lauren Lewis has been treating and diagnosing our kind, and is responsible for quashing the Congo epidemic. However!," Evony stressed, slamming her open palm against the stand. "After raiding the late Dr. Isaac Taft's compound – a man whose research involved the imprisonment and torture of fae – we found evidence of Dr. Lauren Lewis' involvement with his efforts." Turning to address Hale, Evony simpered, "She's also grown to have quite the rebellious streak, not just through your reign, but Lachlan's as well, isn't that right?"

Refusing to fall for Evony's bait, Hale looked out amongst the crowds as he replied, "It is true Dr. Lewis has made requests of the Ash that were above her tenure, but outside of recognizing curfew set by Lachlan, it was not until her involvement with Dr. Taft that she directly disobeyed an order."

Evony's face fell at failing to goad Hale and suddenly disinterested, turned to look down at Lauren and the two representatives now standing loosely at either side of her. "Now that everybody is up to speed, let us turn our eyes and ears to the gauntlet. Dr. Lewis, please bear in mind that you are to speak only when spoken to. Gentlemen, you have the floor."

Both Reese and the fae opposite looked to each other, Reese unfolding his hands from his waist long enough to gesture a sweeping "go right on ahead" motion to his blonde, light fae counterpart. "I'll go ahead and ask the heavy-hitting question on everybody's mind to set the tone. Dr. Lewis, was your involvement with Dr. Taft voluntary? And before you answer, I'd like to inform my peers that Dr. Lewis' residence showed no signs of struggle or duress, and was in fact left like one would leave a home on vacation."

Lauren considered her words carefully. _I must be completely honest, lest my answers start to sound as if I'm flip-flopping_. "Yes, I did leave with Dr. Taft, but under false pretenses. I was not aware at the time of his line of research."

"And what were you aware of, Dr. Lewis? Of the fact that you asked the Ash for leave and were denied?"

Lauren's thin lips pursed until the color faded from them. She had expected inevitable pitfalls, but none this soon. Before she could string two words together in reply, Reese stepped out of her peripherals and into her vision, ignoring the look of confusion and annoyance on the light fae interrogator's face as his hands unfurled in speech.

"Is this amateur hour? We know she disobeyed her owner. She knows it. Why don't we cut to the inner workings of why. Dr. Lewis, if you would, recount how you came – willingly, yes?" Reese paused as Lauren echoed a "yes" in response, "– into the late Ash's servitude."

"I was volunteering my medical expertise to WUSC at the time, serving the beginning months of a two-year deployment in the Congo. Most of my responsibilities included administering medicines. The illnesses there were mostly related to poor diet and water purification, until one day a man approached me, tongue so dry that when he spoke it sounded like sandpaper. His eyes almost looked plastic, hardly moistening. He was accompanied by who I would later come to know as the Ash, practically pushed into my arms for diagnosis. Eager to help, I ran extensive tests, only to find results that were virtually impossible. The Ash was insistent that I stop second-guessing my findings and proceed with a cure. Only after repeatedly informing him that I could not build upon that which I did not understand did he reveal to me his medical facilities, and files pertaining to the man's physiology that all my tests could not have garnered. With the missing links, I was able to stabilize a cure which he then requested I replicate. I did, and fortunately, the other infected found alleviated symptoms within hours. I thought my chapter with the mysterious man and his fascinating new breed of virus had come to a close, until Nadia, another volunteer through WUSC and . . . and a woman I had grown to fall in love with, fell comatose without apparent cause. I did my best to evaluate her condition, but WUSC's resources were not enough. The Ash approached me again, thanked me for my service, and offered to host Nadia and myself in his facility in return for my servitude. I hardly thought on his choice of words when I accepted, but it became apparent after he revealed to me that I had cured a race entirely inhuman that I was bound to something bigger." Surprisingly the room had remained mostly silent during Lauren's retelling. Lips parched from the extensive recount, Lauren thankfully fell quiet, taking advantage of the lull between questions to catch her breath.

Reese, seemingly content, smiled at her before nabbing question number three out of the light fae's mouth. "Records show that Nadia recovered just shy of six months ago. Where is she now?"

Determined to keep her mind on the facts, Lauren had been staring straight ahead. At Nadia's name, her eyes flickered to Reese's briefly before falling downcast. "She . . . she's dead."

"The nature of her death?" the light fae spurred when it became apparent Lauren did not intend to elaborate as clearly as she had the question prior.

"She was stabbed by . . . Bo Dennis, in my defense." Gasps rippled throughout the benches.

Unaffected by the juicy melodrama unraveling before him, Reese prompted once more. "With Nadia dead and your clear ability to access advanced facilities what with your involvement with Taft, what has kept you under the Ash's heel?"

"My word."

Reese stopped mid-stride in his pacing, oceanic eyes hardening on Lauren. "Your word and . . .? It's no secret that you showed displeasure under late Ash Lochlan's rule frequently and childishly."

"My word and the position to aid those that I love."

"Nadia's dead." Reese reminded in an almost-snarl, curbing the aggression in the back of his throat.

"Bo isn't," Lauren fired back, closing her eyes and exhaling as another gasp spread like wildfire, chatter crackling like burning wood until Hale's siren whistle silenced the room.

"Bo. As in Bo Dennis? Better known as the unaligned succubus?" All of the growl in Reese's voice seemingly vanished, his words yet again smooth as silk as he continued his measured pacing.

"Yes."

"Surely you're aware that Bo Dennis is hardly a popular name these days. A known human-lover with flagrant disregard for our customs . . ."

"Those that know her past her title and the company she keeps know that she is a good per—"

"Did I sound finished to you? I apologize if I did, because I assure you I wasn't," Reese snapped calmly and clearly, enunciating each syllable as if goading Lauren with each consonant and vowel to look up at him with those eyes now boring into the floor beneath her. "Now, I'm going to lay down what I've heard through the grapevine, and you just let me know if I get anything wrong. After I've finished. Over the course of knowing Bo, you've not only weaned her off human feeds with supplementary injections, but you've somehow managed to convince a succubus that monogamy with a human is a perfectly sustainable lifestyle. Am I in the ballpark thus far?" Lauren could only nod, sensing more advantage in fully revealing his play over dancing around semantics. "That human, of course, being you. You are lovers, correct?"

"We . . . have history, yes."

"History you rewrote expertly in your chapter at Taft's compound. I don't know if many of us could see that twist ending, but I am getting ahead of myself now."

Lauren's eyes widened, raising to meet first Reese, and then daring to look up at Hale, who seemed to mirror the same surprise and anticipation as she did.

Reese removed his gaze from Lauren to look out at the crowd surrounding them, pulling a clicker device out of his pocket as he gestured to his peers. "What I am about to play you is a recording of Lauren Lewis captured by Dr. Taft's surveillance equipment at his compound."

_No_. Lauren's hands flew to grip the armrests of her seat as she felt her legs attempt to propel her upward in protest, barely anchoring herself back down. Knees bobbing rapidly, Lauren closed her eyes, immediately regretting it as Bo's voice echoed over the sound system in the acoustically-challenged courtroom, the memory vivid as day against her eyelids.

"Oh thank god you're okay."

"You came for Dyson. I knew you would."

"Actually, I traced the number on your phone. I can save you both."

Reese paused the recording for but a moment as he clarified, "The voice you'll hear next is Dr. Taft himself," and then the recording resumed.

"Actually, Doctor Lewis doesn't need saving. She's my partner."

"That's a pretty sick interpretation."

"Actually, it's a pretty flattering one. I thought he was my boss."

The recording paused again, Reese extending a moment of silence with a grave, pensive face as he glanced a full 180 across the loaded benches. "Tragic, right? But this next bit," Reese broke into a grin, dipping his head down as he shook the small stereo remote above him as if evoking a higher power. "This next bit should win an Emmy." The recording started again, skipping ahead to the meat.

"The fae have ruined my life, Bo. They have cursed my girlfriend. They have held me prisoner – sometimes literally. And all the while my brain, my talents . . . Don't you see? This is a chance for _me _to do something meaningful. To save _my _kind."

"You have been brainwashed. This is not you."

"Oh please, Bo."

"In here I have a chance to transform humanity, and take out the one man who has stood in my way."

"Who?"

"Dyson, . . . Bo."

Lauren's buzzing, watering eyes zeroed in on Reese as he slowly pocketed the remote and turned to face her, both hands leisurely hooked in his pockets as he relished in the evidence of her defeat written all over her reddening face.

"Oh Lauren. Lauren, Lauren," a slew of "tsk"'s bounced off the roof of his mouth as he shook his head slowly. "Earlier I asked you why you did not abandon your debt with the Ash after Nadia's death. Your response was your word and Bo. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from this little hidden scene, I think it is safe to say you've renounced both your word and your love for our unaligned succubus."

"I was speaking under duress!" Lauren's panicked voice trembled as she slammed closed fists against the armrests of her chair. "I had to—"

"I love you." Bo's recorded voice played again over the speaker system.

"And I loved you."

Before Lauren could recover from the sucker punch, Reese was circling her like a shark, speaking out and to the crowds now murmuring amongst one another. "Fact. Not even 24 hours after this recording was time-stamped, Dyson was admitted to hospital, where he was discovered to be comatose and still remains. Fact. Not even 24 hours and the unaligned succubus Bo falls off the grid, unseen even in the Dal where she is known to frequent. She has yet to show up. Fact, you threatened both these lives – Dyson directly, and Bo by default; she is not _your _kind. Whatever good you did for us in the past, it is clear that you no longer have our best interest at heart." Reese ended in front of Lauren, arms outstretched to Hale and Evony as he offered his final verdict. The roar of the thousand plus jury cheered for Reese and booed Lauren's betrayal in equal proportions.

Whipping around quickly, Reese bent at the back until he was eye level with Lauren. Looking her straight in the eye despite the heat from the fury radiating therein, Reese's mic'd voice whispered to the room, "Do you have anything to say to combat these allegations?"

Squeezing her eyes shut, Reese's mocking words ricocheted in her hollowing head with growing force. It didn't matter what she said. What she _had _said had hurt so much she thought she was going to die as she looked into Bo's face. Now she realized that she _was _dying. She started dying that very moment and though it had taken nearly a month to catch up with her, this was the apex. _I love you, Bo. I've loved you with everything I've ever had_, were the last words Lauren could hear herself think before she found herself drowned out by what had transformed into a horrific, garbled scream, almost infantile, like the first cry of a newborn.

_**I'm alive.**_

When Lauren's eyes shot open, Reese found himself standing quickly erect, taking a few steps back from the primal rage pulsating in the thick yellow irises staring back at him, no more translucent than egg yolks, encased in pitch black. Every fae felt it, even though few could see what had caused Reese's face to pale as it did. The person in the center of the room was no longer only human.

As her eyes faded to their familiar honey brown, the sole defendant answered calmly through a swaggering sneer, "My name is Karen Beattie, and you owe me more than you can comprehend."


End file.
